180 replies to this topic

[scaramunga]

Sounds like this is an amazing book! Looking forward to picking up a copy.

I had heard about the book in another post and was curious to read some reviews / comments from other Bond fans about it.

Good to hear the layout and content are top notch!!

I ended up watching a few OHMSS extras on the UE DVD today as well. : )

[Righty007]

Just ordered my copy from Amazon.com. Can't wait to read it!

[Jeff007]

You won't be disapointed, Righty.

[coco1997]

Can anyone tell me what page(s)the bits about the OHMSS script development/early 'Octopussy' drafts can be found?

[Aris007]

Nearly 300 pages! Oh, God! You've done a lot of job there Charles! Thanks a million!

I must order this right now!

[Major Tallon]

Can anyone tell me what page(s)the bits about the OHMSS script development/early 'Octopussy' drafts can be found?

There's an entire chapter entitled "Scripts & False Starts" (pages 20-39) that contains detailed information about screenplay development, including a wonderful chart that lays it all out in tabular form. Great stuff!

[dutch_pepper]

I bought the book a week ago and I must say: What an amazing book! There were lots of thing I didn't know about OHMSS. It's a must-have for Bondfans!

[doublenoughtspy]

Coco are you going to be like Secret Agent Fan and skip a whole chapter of the book? I hope you read the entire thing. Preferably in order since it is chronological. I spent quite a bit of time putting it together.

Thanks for the kind words Ari, Major Talon, and Dutch Pepper!

[coco1997]

I won't be skipping it, doublenought. Just wanted to know 'cause that's the part that interests me most.

[the other fellow]

Really enjoyed reading your wonderful book Charles
It goes on my list for essential reading for the true Bond fan
Anyone interested in purchasing a copy i highly recommend they read zencats and strombergs excellent and accurate reviews
All the best with its success Charles,truly deserved

[coco1997]

Just a quick question: Will this book not be available in retail stores? I've been asking around at some of the Borders Bookstores in the area but none of them carry it.

[doublenoughtspy]

Brick and mortar stores don't typically carry small press books like mine. I've had a few specialty cinema book stores contact me about stocking the book, but sadly your average Borders won't carry it. You can special order it from Borders/Barnes & Noble/etc. as it is available in Books in Print.

[coco1997]

Thanks, Charlie!

[Righty007]

I heard there was going to be a picture of Charles wearing Tracy's wedding dress (he owns the actual costume from the film) in the book but I've yet to find it.

[Aris007]

I heard there was going to be a picture of Charles wearing Tracy's wedding dress (he owns the actual costume from the film) in the book but I've yet to find it.

[doublenoughtspy]

The book is now available in Italy through the newly launched Italian Amazon - and is on sale at a 33% discount...

http://www.amazon.it...91384792&sr=8-1

[Major Tallon]

The book is now available in Italy through the newly launched Italian Amazon - and is on sale at a 33% discount...

http://www.amazon.it...91384792&sr=8-1

Buona fortuna, doublenaughtspy!

[Righty007]

Just published my review of this book on Amazon.com. If you don't know my real name, mine is the most recent review. Check it out! http://www.amazon.co...#R25MNSJSS0J1JV

[FlemingBond]

wow, how did i miss this? thanks to the author in advance! my favorite movie!

[rexburch]

One of the Best Bond Books ever .

[Mr. Blofeld]

Just got this book for Christmas, and may I say, it's a lot, um... taller than I expected it to be!

It's a fantastic book; the info, the gorgeous pictures and layout -- doublenoughtspy really knows his stuff. I have a few questions, however:

1.) I don't know why (it might be a false impression from the OHMSS DVD feature), but I always thought the first shooting for OHMSS was Lazenby ascending the Alpine Room staircase in his kilt, not the exteriors of Bunt, Bond, and Grunther at the helipad -- how wrong am I, and why do you think that might be?

2.) The Phidian chase sequence seems a very interesting idea for a chase, and actually seems to have had the entire first, above-ground section shot for it; my questions for this is, is there any remaining footage for the chase (a step-by-step go-through of the chase seemingly used a few actual film stills and telecine recordings) to possibly be patched together as a deleted scenes-type of extra, and was it any sort of influence on the Siena footchase in QOS (which almost works as the Phidian chase in reverse, going from underground catacombs to the rooftops of buildings)?

3.) I recognized certain quotes from Peter Hunt (namely, the description of Pleasance in YOLT as having "waddled rather than walked" and the Schilthorn almost being what Fleming wrote) from an interview I read ages ago online, covering his entire career and (I think) being published, either online or in physical form, in a 007 fan magazine -- is there any way to give me a link so I could read it again and know I wasn't imagining it?

[Righty007]

Just got this book for Christmas, and may I say, it's a lot, um... taller than I expected it to be!

It's a fantastic book; the info, the gorgeous pictures and layout -- doublenoughtspy really knows his stuff. I have a few questions, however:

1.) I don't know why (it might be a false impression from the OHMSS DVD feature), but I always thought the first shooting for OHMSS was Lazenby ascending the Alpine Room staircase in his kilt, not the exteriors of Bunt, Bond, and Grunther at the helipad -- how wrong am I, and why do you think that might be?

2.) The Phidian chase sequence seems a very interesting idea for a chase, and actually seems to have had the entire first, above-ground section shot for it; my questions for this is, is there any remaining footage for the chase (a step-by-step go-through of the chase seemingly used a few actual film stills and telecine recordings) to possibly be patched together as a deleted scenes-type of extra, and was it any sort of influence on the Siena footchase in QOS (which almost works as the Phidian chase in reverse, going from underground catacombs to the rooftops of buildings)?

3.) I recognized certain quotes from Peter Hunt (namely, the description of Pleasance in YOLT as having "waddled rather than walked" and the Schilthorn almost being what Fleming wrote) from an interview I read ages ago online, covering his entire career and (I think) being published, either online or in physical form, in a 007 fan magazine -- is there any way to give me a link so I could read it again and know I wasn't imagining it?

Make sure to head over to Amazon.com and leave a review, mon ami.

[Turn]

I also received the book for Xmas and share Mr. Blofeld's sentiments. I knew from all I'd read it here it was going to be a great book, but I was blown away by all it had to offer. Much bigger and more pages than I had expected.

Without question this is THE best book on Bond films ever written. The only downside I can imagine is how can any author come close to this effort. Thanks, Charles, for this sharing this with us.

[doublenoughtspy]

Just got this book for Christmas, and may I say, it's a lot, um... taller than I expected it to be!

It's a fantastic book; the info, the gorgeous pictures and layout -- doublenoughtspy really knows his stuff. I have a few questions, however:

1.) I don't know why (it might be a false impression from the OHMSS DVD feature), but I always thought the first shooting for OHMSS was Lazenby ascending the Alpine Room staircase in his kilt, not the exteriors of Bunt, Bond, and Grunther at the helipad -- how wrong am I, and why do you think that might be?

That's from Michael Reed's interview on the DVD. There are also a few other scenes that Peter Hunt said was the first thing that was shot. Those are based on memories of the crew, whereas for my book I tried to use the production documents and slate numbers - those are far more accurate than memories.

2.) The Phidian chase sequence seems a very interesting idea for a chase, and actually seems to have had the entire first, above-ground section shot for it; my questions for this is, is there any remaining footage for the chase (a step-by-step go-through of the chase seemingly used a few actual film stills and telecine recordings) to possibly be patched together as a deleted scenes-type of extra, and was it any sort of influence on the Siena footchase in QOS (which almost works as the Phidian chase in reverse, going from underground catacombs to the rooftops of buildings)?

I haven't found any footage, and as you might imagine, I've spent quite a bit of time looking. Because the whole scene was scrapped during filming (rather than a post-production decision) it never got audio dubbed, color corrected, or any of the other ways footage might have been copied or left behind.

As for the QOS chase being influenced by OHMSS, I doubt it. Bond is chasing a mole, but everytime Bond is on a rooftop, it doesn't make it a homage to OHMSS. And I tend to see OHMSS influence in lots of places :-)

3.) I recognized certain quotes from Peter Hunt (namely, the description of Pleasance in YOLT as having "waddled rather than walked" and the Schilthorn almost being what Fleming wrote) from an interview I read ages ago online, covering his entire career and (I think) being published, either online or in physical form, in a 007 fan magazine -- is there any way to give me a link so I could read it again and know I wasn't imagining it?

The one you are thinking of was done with the now defunct Secret Intelligence Magazine, which was never in print, online only. The Wayback machine does have it archived: http://web.archive.o...ures/index.html

[Mr. Blofeld]

Thank you so much for the response, Charles! A few further responses and questions:

I haven't found any footage, and as you might imagine, I've spent quite a bit of time looking. Because the whole scene was scrapped during filming (rather than a post-production decision) it never got audio dubbed, color corrected, or any of the other ways footage might have been copied or left behind.

Well, at the very least, your images of Bond discovering the bug and Phidian leaving the art studio, with Bond coming in and climbing out the window, seem to have been taken from a video or telecine recording of the original footage -- where did you get that?

The one you are thinking of was done with the now defunct Secret Intelligence Magazine, which was never in print, online only. The Wayback machine does have it archived: http://web.archive.o...ures/index.html

Thank you so much for the link; a very good interview, as I recall, and one well worth re-reading.

I'm just about finished your book, and I noticed your chapters progressed through the shoot's locations -- except you say that several scenes in Switzerland featuring the principal cast, including the phone booth scene and the Teleferique pylon (which isn't mentioned in the text proper) were shot in March, right when shooting with the principals was also happening in England. Were they being shipped back and forth to locations in between the breaks for the Swiss blocks of filming? A bit confused, I'm afraid...

Also, I know that your book was privately published; I own a few other privately-published authoritative works on film, myself, and one of the unfortunate side effects of private publishing is that typographical errors become numerous, which detracts from considerations on the authoritative nature of the work, I'm afraid.

Your book is fantastic (I envy whoever came up with the ingenious "clock face" chapter headings), but like other privately-published works, it has a lot of typographical and formatting errors -- that's not to say the text itself isn't brilliant, but if you're thinking of another edition, I'd gladly offer my services to pouring through for spelling.

I was also a little perplexed at how some of the photographs in the book were stretched horizontally or vertically somewhat; I suppose to keep the formatting all set and unmessed with, but it was a minor annoyance, particularly on your Dedication page.

Aside from all that, wonderful book; I have it right in front of me, right now, and I find that, at every angle, the end of Bond's PPK follows me however the book is turned -- a marvelous piece of work.

[doublenoughtspy]

Without question this is THE best book on Bond films ever written. The only downside I can imagine is how can any author come close to this effort. Thanks, Charles, for this sharing this with us.

Thanks Turn.

Just as OHMSS inspired me to write a book worthy of its, erm, Majesty, I hope my effort will inspire future authors, rather than intimidate them. Before I started, I looked at every "Making of" I could get my hands on (not just Bond), and made notes on what I liked, and what I didn't - and set out to make the best "Making of" book ever.

As Righty suggests, I hope you, Mr Blofeld, and anyone else who enjoys the book can take a minute to write a review on Amazon, tell a friend, etc.

Because I believe independent publishing should be supported and promoted.

Merry Christmas!

[Righty007]

Also, I know that your book was privately published; I own a few other privately-published authoritative works on film, myself, and one of the unfortunate side effects of private publishing is that typographical errors become numerous, which detracts from considerations on the authoritative nature of the work, I'm afraid.

So because there are a few spelling errors, the authoritativeness of this remarkable and one of a kind book is diminished? Are you on crack?

Your book is fantastic (I envy whoever came up with the ingenious "clock face" chapter headings), but like other privately-published works, it has a lot of typographical and formatting errors -- that's not to say the text itself isn't brilliant, but if you're thinking of another edition, I'd gladly offer my services to pouring through for spelling.

I don't think it's appropriate to criticize the spelling and/or grammar in this book when you use made up phrases like "unmessed with."

I was also a little perplexed at how some of the photographs in the book were stretched horizontally or vertically somewhat; I suppose to keep the formatting all set and unmessed with, but it was a minor annoyance, particularly on your Dedication page.

To quote Delmo Walters Jr. aka 'The Saint', "I think 5-6 photos stretched/distorted out of the 600 featured within the book is forgivable."

[Mr. Blofeld]

So because there are a few spelling errors, the authoritativeness of this remarkable and one of a kind book is diminished? Are you on crack?

No, not in the slightest; I'm afraid that if someone completely uninformed of independent publishing comes in and reads it, realizes the authoritative nature of the book, but then gets hung up on spelling, then one bad review can spoil the whole crop of them -- and I am not one to nitpick on spelling, normally; this is just as a precaution.

I don't think it's appropriate to criticize the spelling and/or grammar in this book when you use made up phrases like "unmessed with."

I wanted to get my post out while doublenought was still on to respond; it's only an Internet post, after all.

To quote Delmo Walters Jr. aka 'The Saint', "I think 5-6 photos stretched/distorted out of the 600 featured within the book is forgivable."

Yes, forgivable -- it was minor. Why do you always have to seize upon the negative, Righty?

Also, doublenoughtspy, I'm still curious about where you got the stills to the Phidian sequence from...

[Righty007]

To quote Delmo Walters Jr. aka 'The Saint', "I think 5-6 photos stretched/distorted out of the 600 featured within the book is forgivable."

Yes, forgivable -- it was minor. Why do you always have to seize upon the negative, Righty?

I always seize upon the negative?

That's inaccurate. However, when I see someone being a pretentious and arrogant jerk, I call them out on it especially when I know they have a long history of such behavior.

[doublenoughtspy]

Well, at the very least, your images of Bond discovering the bug and Phidian leaving the art studio, with Bond coming in and climbing out the window, seem to have been taken from a video or telecine recording of the original footage -- where did you get that?

It wasn't from footage, those images are from contact sheets.

I'm just about finished your book, and I noticed your chapters progressed through the shoot's locations -- except you say that several scenes in Switzerland featuring the principal cast, including the phone booth scene and the Teleferique pylon (which isn't mentioned in the text proper) were shot in March, right when shooting with the principals was also happening in England. Were they being shipped back and forth to locations in between the breaks for the Swiss blocks of filming? A bit confused, I'm afraid...

I don't have the time or the space to go through every day of filming right now - multiple units were filming simultaneously, and because of the weather, they were shooting in Switzerland as late as May of 69. So yes, they did fly back to Switzerland a few times with the first unit.

Re: Clock face chapter headings - thanks, it was my idea, executed in Illustrator by Delmo Walters, Jr., aka The Saint here on CBn.

Re: The formatting nitpicks. I was trying to meet a deadline, and had to switch printers at the last minute. Sorry it spoiled things for you. I wasn't pleased either.

Now its my turn to ask YOU a question. With praise from Bond luminaries like Graham Rye, Raymond Benson, John Cork, tons of people here on CBn, etc., why did it take you a year to order the book?